Friday 28 August 2015

A dress and a story

I am working on a dress for Ada, that's out of the leftover yarn from her sweater I just finished.  I'm quite pleased with it, except I seem to have made an error and somewhere substituted the length I need from the armpits to the hem for the overall length, as a result it's too short.  It's a top-down raglan, so I put it on a stitch-holder, knit the sleeves, button band, and neck edging and now I have it back on the needles.  I figure this way I'll just knit until I run out of yarn which will (hopefully) make it about the right length and, since everything else is knit, I can do this without obsessively worrying that I'll run out of yarn for the sleeves.

In other news my husband went into Caleb's room to get him for breakfast yesterday.  He found Caleb sitting in bed with a toy wrench and a Duplo gas-line (it goes with his Duplo airplane, it's a cord about 8" long), waving them about together.  When Joshua asked him what he was doing he said that he was knitting a hat for his stuffed penguin.  I love love love this kid.  I also wonder what it will be like when he finds out not all moms knit.

Tuesday 25 August 2015

Shopping with my boy

This week at my knitting group everyone was talking about this fabulous yarn sale that was happening in town.  I'd been wanting to buy yarn for Caleb's sweater for a while and this yarn shop was having an awesome sale and just happened to be on the way home from my car appointment today.  When we got there I put Ada in the ring sling, Caleb in the stroller and got to looking around. The sale was quite good, and there was this blue and white variegated yarn, which Caleb pointed at exclaimed "my yarn!"  I looked at it and put it back at which point he shook his head and said, "my yarn!  My yarn!"  He never asks for candy or anything like that when we're out, so this time, he's totally getting a sweater, out of "his yarn."  I love that boy.

Friday 21 August 2015

Yarn Reclaimed

I've been starting to go through our home and give away the items that never get used and don't bring me joy.  It's a cheesy measure of whether or not to keep something but I have to say it's helpful.  I've been doing my clothes first, and there are a few things I've knit that I just don't love.  There are two sweaters I've knit that I never wear.  I enjoyed knitting them but haven't worn them for years, the cut just isn't me.  They're from when I started to knit sweaters and apparently just before I had the epiphany that if I'm knitting clothing for myself I need to use a pattern for something I'd actually wear because the fact that I knit something myself isn't virtue enough to wear it if I wouldn't wear the style anyways.  One of the sweaters has found a home with someone who loves handknits, that makes me happy.  The other one had not and suddenly yesterday I had a realization that since it's not felted at all I could just unravel the thing and then I'd have yarn, which absolutely brings me joy.

Also, I have gotten way better at sewing up seams in the last ten years.

Tuesday 18 August 2015

An unexpected hat

I have lost Ada's sunhat. I discovered this at 9 o'clock in the evening the day before our trip to Toronto which was supposed to include a day at the zoo. I also couldn't find the spare for the life of me.

While contemplating what I would do about this I finally had the epiphany that I had some brown cotton yarn that would make a lovely hat and that I could probably jut make one on the drive down to Toronto. Normally when I'm making a pattern I search and do a bunch of math first but this time I grabbed needles that would work and just started knitting. It turned out remarkably well, it's really sweet and I'm thrilled with it.

We had an awesome day at the zoo, Caleb has told my parents we saw rafs high up (tall giraffs), the bear made a big jump ( the polar bear jumped into the water), and Pat (his stuffed penguin is named Pat).  It really is amazing to see the things that make an impression on him and to watch him enjoy himself.

Thursday 13 August 2015

velcro baby

I am sitting here with Ada on my knee.  She is generally happy if she's being held, she will only nap at home in someone's arms (miraculously she sleeps through the night in her own room). I've never really been much of a touchy person but I have to admit the snuggles are nice.  She's a happy little girl and I'm enjoying getting to know her. She woke up a few minutes ago when I got up to do laundry so now we're snuggling and I'm typing with one hand and she's eating one of her hands and I can smell my mother's perfume on her little head from when she came over earlier in the day.  Since we switched to a sent free laundry soap I'm constantly surprised by how much I notice smells.  Laundry is currently impossible with my sleepy little girl so perhaps I'll go outside with a book, sit on my new patio furniture and eat a chocolate bar.  I am blessed.

Monday 10 August 2015

The Dress

I am knitting Ada a dress, it is a raglan made out of leftover blue and grey yarn and has stripes of varying widths, and I love it.  I just have one problem:  when doing the math I accidentally substituted the length from the armpits to the hem for the total length of the dress and now the stripe pattern is all messed up and I'm not sure I have enough yarn for the whole thing.

I suppose that's two problems.

I've thought about it, though, and I have a plan.  First, I'm going to go back and finish the arms, this will ensure they match each other and the dress (I need the stripes on the arms to match the body so I don't go bonkers).  This will mean that, aside from a little yarn I'll need for the finishing that all of the yarn that's left is available for the body of the dress.

Secondly, if I make the rest of the stripes a mirror image of the stripes that are already there it doesn't totally mess up the pattern (I've decided starting the pattern over again would look wonky).  Now I just need to find time in this incredibly busy week to work on it before our trip this weekend.  (I don't want to be trouble-shooting in the car, once I'm back on the body it should be smooth sailing).

I really hope it turns out.  Also, I now want to buy more yarn to make the dress I'd pictured instead of this dress, which I'm fairly confident will be acceptable.

Friday 7 August 2015

"Help"

Caleb loves to help.  When I make lunch he often takes out a pan and spoon (or "poon" as he calls them) and makes lunch along side me.  I had to buy him his own broom so he'd stop trying to take mine while I slept and he's wonderful at helping me take the laundry from the washer and put it in the dryer.

I'm currently knitting a dress for Ada and he knows it.  He'll point to it and say "Ada.  Dress!  Yarn!"  But earlier this week he added "help" to the end of the sentence.  He brought it to me and insisted on sitting in my lap and helping with the dress.  We sat there and knit, and with my right hand over his he "helped" me wrap the yarn around the needle as I explained what we were doing.

That little boy melts my heart.

Tuesday 4 August 2015

Flying along

I've almost finished Ada's sweater. I still need the buttons, but I don't know where to buy them. I used to get all my buttons at a lovely shop downtown but since we've moved (and had two kids) it's much harder to get there. I wasn't in love with the selection at the yarn shop closest to me the last time I was there. I'll have to enquire about where other people at buttons at my knitting group this week.

I've been going through projects at break neck speed, mostly because I'm knitting for a two month old. Her sweater took less than 100g of yarn. I made it out of leftovers. I wasn't sure how much I'd need but now I'm sure I have enough to make a matching dress. That and mittens for Caleb are my two next projects and I think the blanket might see some action as after that I'll need to do some math and yarn buying before I make a sweater for Caleb for the winter. I'm thinking cables in emerald green but we'll have to see.